Kauqea
Kauqea is a deity worshiped mostly by Humans on the world of Goric in the Emeron campaign. Teachings Kauqea is the god of nature, the forest and wilderness. He is the primary deity of the Browncloak Druids of Emeron and frequently that of devout rangers as well. Though he is most closely associated with forests he counts any natural wilderness such as deserts or tundra as his domain as well. His holy symbol is a leaf. Kauqea’s teachings encourage people to live in harmony with nature, to avoid over hunting or over populating an area and to perfect the balance between nature and mankind (and elvenkind, dwarvenkind, etc.) Kauqea does not teach that settlements should not exist but rather that they should create a balance between the natural and the manufactured. In areas that are overdeveloped natural catastrophes occur as a sign that Kauquea is displeased. Likewise the followers believe that hunting is completely valid, but the trick is to avoid over hunting. “Kauqea provides for all, as long as we are not greedy” is a common saying among the faithful. At times when over-development is a problem the faithful will speak out and, if necessary, act out to bring things back into balance. Kauqea is also a staunch opponent of undead as it is unnatural and contributes nothing to the cycle of life. His faithful oppose undead at every turn and will only suffer an undead to exist if they cannot defeat it themselves (at which point they will seek help to destroy it as soon as possible.) Clerics and Druids to Kauqea dress in simple earth tone colors, though the Browncloak order of druids and rangers stick to brown cloaks (as the name implies.) Some of the more devout refuse to use any weapon or equipment that is manufactured as a sign of their devotion but most feel that Kauquea’s teachings of balance indicate that there is a place for such tools in the world. While he has no temples, altars to Kauqea may be found in the wild often built for worship by any faithful who happen by. Sometimes they are in or near a small home that a druid or ranger has built and is living at though some are simply set up in random areas in the wilderness for the traveling faithful to pray at. They are always very simple affairs and take few natural resources to construct. In truth, most followers of Kauquea find that it is acceptable to pray to him anywhere outside of a town, settlement or farm. Essentially any wilderness location is his temple, according to most of Kauqea’s followers. Appearance Kauqea is depicted as a burly, wild looking woodsman dressed in furs and wielding a spear or bow and arrow. He is said to be able to change shapes to any non-magical creature. Church Structure There is not really a formalized church to this nature god. Most of his worshipers tend to be druids or rangers. The few priests He does have tend to be loner types who live in the fringes of wilderness and are not into city/town living let alone organizing a church. Those faithful may sometimes train an apprentice, but this is on a case by case basis and their training (and completion thereof) strictly at the judgement of the priest in question. Browncloak Druids The most organized version of the faithful to Kauqua is the Browncloak Druids of the Hemlock Tops Forest. Though called Druids, many follow different vocations but are no less faithful to Kauqua and nature. They consider it their responsibility to safeguard nature and to that end have an arrangement with the Crown of Emeron that they are the stewards of the forest and that they supervise logging efforts in the forest to ensure that the land is not damaged and any lumber take is replaced with fresh growth. The Browncloak Druids are certainly not the only druids in the world, though they are the largest organization of collected druids in Emeron. Ranks of the Browncloak Druids The Browncloak Druids are led by the Forest Father/Mother. Their faithful are called Brother/Sister with apprentice druids simply being called “Seedlings.” Though they spend much of their time in the Hemlock Tops Forest near Emeron City they will also often range out to other areas and protect those regions as wanted/needed. Other than rank or respect for the Forest Father/Mother there is not much internal organization. Category:Emeron Category:Gods